open-and-shut

[oh-puhn-uhn-shuht] / ˈoʊ pən ənˈʃʌt /

ADJECTIVE

pretty much decided

Synonyms

WEAK

apparent assured cinched clear clear as a bell clear-cut conclusive cut and dried distinguishable easy evident explicit glaring guaranteed iced in the bag indisputable nailed down obvious ordinary plain routine self-evident self-explanatory sewn up simple straightforward undeniable undisguised unmistakable

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Our reviewer, Steven Poole, wrote that “the book proceeds like a convoluted murder mystery, introducing one suspect after another in what seems like an open-and-shut case, before puncturing the promising narrative with an inconvenient fact.”

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s not an open-and-shut case by any means.”

From Seattle Times

But not everyone sees it as an open-and-shut case.

From Science Magazine

I have been pretty clear, though, that I think it's got to be a pretty open-and-shut case.

From Salon

Illegal possession of classified documents and repeated attempts to avoid surrendering them to the proper authorities constituted a case that bordered on open-and-shut.

From Washington Post

open-and-shut

Example Sentences

Related Words